---

April 13, 2005

The past, present & future of CAL basketball come together

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


The goal of All Star Saturday, which moved to Ocean City High School last weekend, is to bring together the past, present and future of Cape-Atlantic League basketball.

This was the fourth annual All Star Saturday. It had been held in Wildwood in 2002 and in Ventnor the last two years. But this was only the second one to include the Eighth Grade games and the Legends Game. And that made the difference.

The last time there were Eighth Grades games, in 2002, fans got to see future high school girls players like Tasha Cannon, Krissy Rosario, Jane O’Donnell, Nicole Diaz and Whitney Walker. And future CAL boys players like Charles Johnson, Dave Beyel, John Amenhauser, Lionel Johnson and Gabe Guerrieri.

There were players in Saturday’s Eighth Grade game we’ll undoubtedly see down the road in the CAL. Girls like Kim Thomas, who says she’s going to Mainland; Joanna Persiano, headed for Atlantic City; or Maria Snyder, who expects to play at Holy Spirit.

On the boys’ side, Jamir Harmon certainly seemed to have all the skills necessary to make an impact at Holy Spirit. Rodney Blount, already about 6-3, should make his presence felt under the boards for Atlantic City. And Joe Viccarelli, the classic point guard, is probably on his way to St. Augustine Prep.

In the final two games, fans saw most of the top seniors from this year’s Cape-Atlantic League. They saw players like Jarrod Frazier and Eric Krwawecz from St. Augustine Prep blend with David Smith, C.J. Palmer and Brent Anderson from Middle Township – five players who liked nothing better than to beat each other during the regular season.

Ocean City fans got to see the final performances by Kaitlin DuRoss, Phil Schaffer and Ed Paone in their OCHS uniforms. Schaffer and Paone mixed effortlessly with Bill Care and Brad Bender from Mainland, their arch rivals.

That’s the great thing about all star games. You get the chance to watch the top players in different settings, mixing with different players and playing the game pretty much the way they’d been taught. Sure, there are a few more three-pointers and a few more attempted dunks but, in the end, they all try to do what is necessary to win.

The future of the CAL looks good if the eighth graders who played on Saturday are any indication. And the present, with three state champions and two other South Jersey finalists, has been great.

In between the future and the present, the past was on display when alumni from Ocean City faced alumni from Mainland in the Legends Game.

There were five 1,000-point scorers in action, including the game’s MVP, Dan Williams. But there were so many other players who had brought excitement to fans in basketball and, in some cases, football, as well.

South Jersey Hall of Famer Jack Boyd was coaching the Ocean City team and his son, Jeff, played for Mainland. Rita Boyd, Jack’s wife and Jeff’s mother, who has rooted hard for both schools through the years, sat behind the Mainland bench in support of her son.

Nuncie Sacco, a big part of the growth of the CAL during his years as athletics director at Mainland and one of the area’s most successful coaches, came out of retirement to coach. It brought back great memories to see him sitting on the bench with a basketball team again.

There was also the three-point showdown between Vineland head coach Dave Orlandini, a former star at St. Augustine Prep and Princeton University, and Hammonton athletics director Mike Gatley, a former Mainland star who has coached on the college and pro levels.

All Star Saturday was made possible at Ocean City High School through the efforts of Ocean City PBA Local No. 61 and by sponsors like Ocean City Home Bank, Just Four Wheels and other PBA locals throughout the area.

The event should return to OCHS next year bringing together a new group of high school seniors, some more eighth graders who are looking at a bright future and 25 or 30 more legends demonstrating that they still love to compete.

It’s the best of CAL basketball on all levels.




Read more of Tom Williams' columns